Rory McIlroy’s hopes of defending his title at The Players have suffered a setback after seeing his build-up disrupted and his arrival delayed by a “stubborn” back injury.
McIlroy withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational ahead of his third round on Saturday, having felt ‘a small twinge’ in his lower back during his warm-up before experiencing ‘muscle spasms’ on the range.
The world No 2 was expected to be fit to feature at TPC Sawgrass this week, although has delayed his travel to the PGA Tour’s flagship event as he continues to deal with the issue.
Rory McIlroy was forced to withdraw from the Arnold Palmer Invitational with a lower back injury, moments before he was due to begin his third round
In a text to Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis, McIlroy said: “The back is being a bit more stubborn than we thought, so I’m staying at home today and tomorrow to continue treatment in South Florida with the hope to travel to Ponte Vedra on Wednesday at some point.”
Travelling to The Players on Wednesday sees the possibility of McIlroy playing only one – if any – practice round ahead of his title defence getting under way on Thursday, live on Sky Sports.
Could Rory McIlroy be forced to miss his title defence at The Players?
McIlroy is scheduled to tee off at 1.42pm local time (5.42pm UK time) on Thursday, as part of Featured Group coverage alongside two-time major winner Xander Schauffele and 2021 Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama.
He is looking to join Scottie Scheffler as the only player to defend his title at The Players, while a victory would see McIlroy join Jack Nicklaus as the only three-time winner in the tournament’s history.
McIlroy is looking to become a three-time winner of The Players and claim a first victory of the year
McIlroy defeated JJ Spaun in a play-off to win last year’s edition in a Monday finish, six years to the day after he lifted the trophy in 2019. The Northern Irishman went on to complete the Grand Slam a month later at The Masters.
When is The Players live on Sky Sports?
Sky Sports Golf will once again be the home of The Players, with over 40 hours of live golf across the four days and a host of extra live programming available during tournament week.
Ahead of The Players at TPC Sawgrass, we take a look at every televised hole-in-one at the iconic 17th hole
‘Live from The Players’ brings you the latest news from TPC Sawgrass from 1pm on Tuesday and 11.30am on Wednesday, ahead of live tournament coverage starting on Thursday.
Featured Groups will be available on Sky Sports+ throughout the week, along with Featured Holes, with bonus feeds to enjoy on top of the feeds available each week during PGA Tour coverage.
Coverage begins at 11.30am on Thursday and Friday before starting at 1pm over the weekend, with highlights and additional shows on Sky Sports Golf. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract.
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